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BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Even as the chaos unfolded around here, the expression on Rose Namajunas’ face never change.

The UFC’s strawweight champion sat completely stonefaced on-stage at the Williamsburg Music Hall on Wednesday afternoon as Max Holloway and Khabib Nurmagomedov argued back-and-forth. If she was feeling any emotion, she wasn’t showing it.

Last November, she was much the same way in the build-up to her fight with then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Few people gave her any chance of breaking down Jedrzejczyk’s air of invincibility, and there were many who interpreted her stoic demeanour as being rooted in fear.

We know better now.

Namajunas shocked the MMA world by dominating Jedrejczyk at UFC 217 and picking up a first-round TKO victory and becoming champion. On Wednesday, only four days before she takes on Jedrejczyk in a rematch, she wasn’t changing-up what worked the first time around.

“I’ve got some new muscles, I’ve got more knowledge, but my spirit is the same,” Namajunas said. “I’m like a tree. My leaves may change colour, but my roots stay the same.”

In an MMA world that is increasingly dominated by bravado and trash-talk, Namajunas’ approach to fighting feels like a breath of fresh air. Like Georges St. Pierre a half-decade ago, the 25-year-old is open about wanting to be a role model.

She tries not to swear, she doesn’t degrade her opponents and she openly cried in the octagon as UFC president Dana White handed her the strawweight belt in November.

She even seems to have rubbed off on Jedrzejczyk, who was one of the UFC’s most notorious trash-talkers prior to losing the belt, but was quietly respectful at Wednesday’s press conference.

Their fight won’t be won or lost based on any of this, of course, but the personality of whoever holds the belt going forward is likely going to define the women’s 115 lbs. division for the next year or two.

If it’s Namajunas, then strawweight may be the weight-class where life is a little more civil.

“All I need is to be myself and that’s all that matters,” Namajunas said.

NO COMMENT On Tuesday afternoon, video emerged on MMANytt.com of Nurmagomedov and Artem Lobov being separated by UFC staff in the fighter’s hotel in Brooklyn.

Lobov is a close friend and training partner of Conor McGregor, but it’s unclear whether that was the cause of Nurmagomedov’s anger towards him. At Wednesday’s press conference, Nurmagomedov refused to comment on the altercation, which was serious enough that the UFC reportedly moved Lobov to a different hotel.

Lobov wasn’t commenting on Wednesday, but is scheduled to appear at UFC 223 media day on Thursday, so more information about what happened should come out then.

NOT SCHEDULED According to UFC president Dana White, there are no plans for McGregor to appear at Saturday night’s show at the Barclays Center.

It’s been widely rumoured that McGregor would show up at the Brooklyn show to support Lobov and to watch the two men who are fighting for the lightweight belt – he’s the champion until they step in the octagon on Saturday night – but White insisted there’s nothing planned.

“It would be awesome if Conor came,” White said. “This is obviously a fight that is very important to him and his future … but I don’t think he has any plans to be here.”

McGregor’s presence would instantly drive more interest in UFC 223, although White is insisting that the event is trending to sell more than any event since UFC 205 in late-2016.

HOLD BOTH When McGregor did win the lightweight title in 2016, White made it clear that he would only be allowed to hold one weight class’s belt. A couple weeks later, the UFC stripped McGregor of his featherweight title.

If Holloway wins on Saturday, he’ll become the second fighter to hold belts in two different divisions at the same time, and White doesn’t appear quite as committed to taking one of them away.

“It’s going to be decided on whether or not he can defend both belts,” White said. “If he can defend both and is willing to fight that much, anything is possible.”

Holloway’s situation is obviously very different than what happened with McGregor, given that Holloway stepped in on only six days’ notice to rescue the UFC 223 main event, while McGregor actively campaigned to fight for the title in both divisions.

It would be sort of cruel to punish Holloway for stepping up, and the good news is that he sounds committed to continuing to fight at featherweight regardless of whether he wins the lightweight title.

“There’s a lot of contenders at 145 lbs. right now,” Holloway said when he was asked about the featherweight division. “There’s (No. 1 contender Brian Ortega), and I respect the fighters. I’ve gotta go there, I’ve got business, but first things first. It’s Khabib on Saturday.”

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